Chapter 9: Volume I. Chapter IX. – Saviour

It’s a battle to the death.

The young soldier is driven back as the angered demon swings its two rock-hard-looking arms.

Every attempt at a blow is either evaded or deflected by the boy’s sword.

Though the beast's fury is fraying, its strikes are still well-aimed.

…Until one of its missed whips gets mocked by the boy.

His arrogant look and protruding tongue make the monster furious.

Although it may appear clever, it is certainly not on a human level. At its core, it’s still just a beast.

The demon swings its fist at the youngster, this time with considerably greater force and range, but it’s uncontrolled and driven by anger.

It’s a mistake the soldier makes full advantage of.

One step to the left.

The demon waves to the boy’s right side, the boy leans forward and spins in the same direction as the single step, slicing across its abdomen in the process, but he isn’t done just yet.

Due to the monster's wide attack, its side is now fully open.

Under its ribcage, another scar develops.

The demon won’t give in and attempts to defend itself, but the young soldier has already taken command.

All of the demon's strikes, although launched one after another, are successfully countered within an instant.

The fight is heating up, it’s getting more intense with each second. I can hardly keep up with them as I see the soldier leaping and whirling all around the beast.

Wait, what am I doing watching them? I should be making use of this opportunity to help the rest of the people.

I look around for Charlotte.

She’s observing the onslaught with the same mixture of astonishment and dread that I was just experiencing.

I call out her name while running towards her with the strength I have regained.

She turns around with a look of surprise; I hug her with all my might.

“…Yuuna?!”

I’ve startled her, but only for a second.

She then returns the favor.

“Thank god, you are alright.”

My older sister then grabs me by the shoulders and moves apart from me as she recollects her memories.

“Iris! She’s stuck beneath a pile of rubble! We need to get her out, she could be injured!”

I nod once.

She’s right, I just hope it isn’t too late.

Charlotte takes my wrist and leads me toward the crumbled house that has buried Iris’ lower half.

We soon find her unconscious.

Charlotte quickly crouches down in front of her and places one ear next to Iris's lips.

“She’s breathing!”

My older sister yells happily.

I've never felt more relieved.

Slowly and carefully, we begin to remove the debris. After lifting a certain stone brick, I find a bloody bruise on one of Iris’s thighs.

“There’s a chance her leg might be fractured.”

I inform Charlotte. Can we move her like this? I’m worried.

Charlotte becomes troubled trying to find a way to help Iris.

I don’t know how to check if it’s broken or not and I don’t want to worsen it either…

“Himari! She can help, did you see her anywhere?”

She asks, not knowing of our friend's state.

Himari was gifted with healing. She could heal anyone except for herself, but…

I look at the ground, I’m hesitant to tell her…but in the end I do.

“Himari…isn’t with us anymore…”

Charlotte stays quiet for a few good seconds before further questioning me.

“What do you mean by that? You mean she ran off to a safe place… right?”

She doesn't wait to believe it and she can't accept it, but my silence just serves to reinforce her concerns.

“There’s no way…”

She is stunned. I’m sure she doesn’t know what to think, it's the same for me.

I glance over at my older sister sitting before me and see a rock heading straight for us from above.

“Get down!”

I yell out as I cover my sister’s body with my own.

The rock misses us and hits a house further behind us.

You are reading story HELL’S DAWN x HEAVEN’S DUSK at novel35.com

I’ve completely overlooked the fact that there’s still a fight going on.

“We need to get her out right now. It’s too dangerous to wait for someone to heal her.”

Charlotte stands up and carries her older sister on her back.

“I will get her out of here and look for help. You go get Hidiku and Hiro.”

She says before carrying Iris away.

I only turn around for a moment when I hear the boy’s voice.

“Watch out!”

Who is that directed at?

I point my gaze toward the boy; he’s looking Charlotte’s way as the armless demon flees and heads in her direction.

It’s not letting her get away easily.

Charlotte is frozen in her tracks as she watches the beast rush towards her while rapidly regenerating its arm.

“You’re wide open!”

Just before my elder sister's eyes, the young soldier descends on the beast's back from above, forcing it to heavily hit the ground. He then slashes the beast's head off.

The cut was precise and the sound of the blade sliding through the thick flesh was satisfying to hear.

Dust briefly blanketed Charlotte and Iris as a result of the hit, but the demon's severed head continued to move through it and gently tapped Charlotte's foot.

She panics and drops flat on her butt.

“So its brain was in the head after all…..Good job girl, you made it much easier for me to slay it.”

Says the boy as he stands on the body of the freshly deceased that’s now slowly disintegrating into ashes.

“Does that mean we are safe now? Oh right, I still need to get Hiro and Hidiku!”

I happily mumble to myself.

Finding them won’t be difficult because I saw both just earlier, though, the sun is almost gone so I should hurry.

Hidiku should be resting after lending me his energy, so I'll search for Hiro first.

I soon locate him laying next to a wall that once used to be a part of a house.

There's blood; he must have hit his head. The bleeding has already stopped, but it still could be a severe injury.

As I check up on the Sato family's eldest son, I hear slow-moving footsteps behind me.

It sounds almost as if someone is limping toward us. And I'm right.

It's Hidiku, now about to fall over.

I catch him as gently as I can; he's gasping for air.

"What are you doing?! You shouldn't be moving!"

I reprimand him with concern. He asks a query in response.

… a situation I never wanted to find myself in is now present.

"Where's… Himari?"

Should I be truthful in my response? He's already in poor condition, so it could wait until later... right?

How am I going to tell him… his sister has died?

As I pause to think this through, Hidiku pushes on.

"Yuuna….where is she?"

Anxiety begins to rise within me yet again. I'm not too fond of this feeling.

"Don't worry about her. We need to get you patched up."

I don't want to be the one to tell him. I just…

"God damn it, Yuuna, answer me! Where is my sister?!"

Hidiku aggressively grabs my collar as he raises his voice.

His upset response startles me, his expression depicts his emotions.

I'm unable to give him a straight answer. Instead, I look at the ground in silence, then slowly point in the direction of his sister's whereabouts.

He lets go of me and leaves to look for his older sister.

Why did things have to end up like this?

I sink to my knees and stare up at the pitch-black sky, overcome with regret.

It doesn't take long before I hear it… a cry. I guess he found her…

I can't bring myself to look his way. I couldn't even bring myself to lead him to his sister or to comfort him…What a friend I am.

And so I quietly pronounce a single sentence, only to be heard by myself.

"I feel pathetic."

After which, two watery droplets, one from each eye, come running down my face And a little while later my head begins to feel light and my balance becomes unstable.

Everything goes black.

You can find story with these keywords: HELL’S DAWN x HEAVEN’S DUSK, Read HELL’S DAWN x HEAVEN’S DUSK, HELL’S DAWN x HEAVEN’S DUSK novel, HELL’S DAWN x HEAVEN’S DUSK book, HELL’S DAWN x HEAVEN’S DUSK story, HELL’S DAWN x HEAVEN’S DUSK full, HELL’S DAWN x HEAVEN’S DUSK Latest Chapter